A Certain Point of View: Writing, Film and Stuff

© 2018 Hasbro, Inc. and Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL) Six years ago, Pawtucket, RI-based Hasbro introduced its ongoing Black Series of licensed Star Wars- related action figures, vehicles, games, and other toys and collectibles that celebrate the characters and situations from Lucasfilm's space-fantasy saga set "a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away." Although the Black Series has followed Kenner and Hasbro's 41-year-old tradition of producing the 3.75-inch action figures that revolutionized movie-based merchandise for kids and adult collectors alike back in 1978, it also introduced larger and more detailed 6-inch scale action figures that feature more articulation points, accurate detailing, and photorealistic sculpts that make them resemble their onscreen counterparts more closely than ever. Since 2017, I've acquired a modest number of these larger figures. I don't plan to go out and collect them all; I don't have unlimited amounts of either display/s...

Photo Credit and © 2018 Hasbro, Inc. and Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL)  Hi, there, Dear Reader! It's Thursday, March 28, 2019, and it's a nice spring day in my corner of Florida. And, as you can see, it's time for another Star Wars action figure review. In this installment of A Certain Point of View, I'll be talking about the Star Wars Black Series 6-inch scale action figure based on Grand Moff Tarkin, the Governor of the Imperial Outlands and commander of the Galactic Empire's ultimate weapon - the Death Star. Released early last year as part of a consignment that included Death Star Trooper, Han Solo, Jawa, Range Trooper, and Lando Calrissian, Grand Moff Tarkin (Black Series figure #60) marked the debut as a 6-inch figure of the fearsome Imperial villain from Star Wars - Episode IV: A New Hope. Hasbro intended it as an April release to whet fans' appetite for Solo: A Star Wars Story and related merchandise, but many retailers put this wave of figures on store ...

Photo credit and © 2017 Hasbro, Inc. and Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL) Well, Dear Reader , it's Tuesday, March 26, 2018, and I'm back with another Star Wars Black Series action figure review. This time around I'll be talking about another figure I received for my recent birthday: Hasbro's Star Wars Black Series: Maz Kanata from director J.J. Abrams' 2015 film, Star Wars - Episode VII: The Force Awakens.  Hasbro released its 49th Star Wars Black Series on September 1, 2017 in the same "wave" or shipment that included the following figures:  #50: Elite Praetorian Guard #51: Finn (First Order Disguise) #52: General Leia Organa #53: Captain Poe Dameron #31: AT-AT Driver #35: Snowtrooper #45: Kylo Ren Of the eight figures in this consignment, five (49-53) were new releases, while the other three were re-releases, as you can see from their ordinal number identifiers.  The destruction of her castle has forced Maz to become more mobile and take a ...

Photo Credit and © 2017 Hasbro, Inc. and Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL)  On September 1, 2017 , Hasbro released a "wave" of nine six-inch Black Series Star Wars action figures that included several characters as seen in the then-upcoming Star Wars - Episode VIII: The Last Jedi, as well as a few re-issues ( AT-AT Driver, Snowtrooper, and Kylo Ren ) from The Empire Strikes Back and The Force Awakens. This collection consists of: #49: Maz Kanata #50: Elite Praetorian Guard #51:  Finn (First Order Disguise) #52: General Leia Organa #53: Captain Poe Dameron #31: AT-AT Driver #35: Snowtrooper #45: Kylo Ren These figures were released in various regions of the U.S. as part of Lucasfilm's International Force Friday II event; however, I acquired two figures from this consignment (#49 Maz Kanata and #51 Finn (First Order Disguise) only recently as part of my birthday present from my sweetheart.  Both of these figures portray characters that were introduced in 2015...